A BILL to amend the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by
adding thereto a new article, designated §5-1E-1, §5-1E-2,
§5-1E-3, §5-1E-4 and §5-1E-5; and to amend and reenact
§18-2-6a and §18-2-7a of said code, all relating to promoting
healthy lifestyles; creating a Healthy Lifestyles Office in
the Department of Health and Human Resources; establishing the
functions of the Office; creating a special revenue account;
establishing a voluntary menu labeling program; establishing
physical activity goals in the schools; and encouraging the
use of healthy beverages in the vending machines of schools.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended
by adding thereto a new article, designated §5-1E-1, §5-1E-2,
§5-1E-3, §5-1E-4 and §5-1E-5; and that §18-2-6a and §18-2-7a of
said code be amended and reenacted, all to read as follows:

CHAPTER 5. GENERAL POWERS AND AUTHORITY OF THE GOVERNOR,

SECRETARY OF STATE AND ATTORNEY GENERAL; BOARD OF PUBLIC WORKS;
MISCELLANEOUS AGENCIES, COMMISSIONS, OFFICES, PROGRAMS, ETC.

ARTICLE 1E. HEALTHY WEST VIRGINIA PROGRAM.
§5-1E-1. Findings and purposes.
The Legislature finds and declares that the rise in obesity
and related weight problems accompanied by the resulting incidence
of chronic disease has created a health care crisis that burdens
the health care infrastructure of the state. The Legislature also
finds that the State of West Virginia must take an informed,
sensitive approach to communicate and educate the citizens of the
state about health issues related to obesity and inappropriate
weight gain. The Legislature further finds that the state must
take action to assist West Virginia citizens in engaging in
healthful eating and regular physical activity. The Legislature
further finds that the state must invest in research that improves
understanding of inappropriate weight gain and obesity. These
efforts are needed to coordinate the state's interest in improving
the health of its citizens and in reducing the cost of health care.
Therefore, it is the purpose of this article to create, as an
integral part of the Department of Education and the Arts, an
entity to coordinate the efforts of all agencies to prevent and
remedy obesity and related weight problems and to ensure that all
citizens are being educated on this serious health risk that is
affecting the state.§5-1E-2. Creation of the Office of Healthy Lifestyles.There is hereby created the Office of Healthy Lifestyles within
the Department of Health and Human Resources. The management of
this office shall be provided in the manner determined by the
Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Resources to be in
the best interest of the state and its citizens.§5-1E-3. Powers and duties of the Office.
The Office of Healthy Lifestyles shall:
(1) Establish a Healthy Lifestyle Coalition to assure
consistency of the public health and private sector approach to
dealing with programs that address the problems that affect
overweight and obese individuals; to provide a forum for discussing
the issues that affect healthy lifestyles and to identify best
practices that can be replicated. By the first day of July, two
thousand five, the Governor shall appoint thirteen members of the
Coalition whose terms shall be for a period of four years, and the
members may be reappointed to a second term. The terms may be
staggered by the Governor to assure continuity of experience on the
coalition. Members shall represent state agencies, community
organizations and other entities which have an interest and
expertise in obesity. Members may not be compensated but shall
receive reimbursement for expenses incurred while performing the
business of the coalition. The Coalition shall meet monthly for at
least the first eighteen months of the Coalition to develop and
implement an action plan to meet the goals established by the
Coalition;
(2) Establish a clinical advisory committee to assure a unified approach using the latest research to assure consistency in
program development;
(3) Establish a statewide voluntary private sector partnership
and recognition program for employers, merchants, restaurants and
other private sector businesses to encourage the development or
further advance current programs that encourage healthy lifestyles;
(4) Coordinate higher education training programs for dietary
and exercise physiology students with rural health care providers;
(5) Coordinate existing health promotion initiatives to assure
clear, concise and consistent communication;
(6) Solicit, accept and expend grants, gifts, bequests,
donations and other funds from any source for programs that will
enable the state to accomplish the goals of this program;
(7) Develop a cross-agency series of goals to ensure
consistency throughout the system of providers and agencies working
in the area of improving lifestyles;
(8) Establish as a goal to increase the prevalence of healthy
weight among all people in the state because obesity leads to
diabetes, heart disease, strokes and kidney failure. These
diseases, often arising in older age as a result of unhealthy
lifestyles that began during a person's youth, place an undue
financial burden on individuals, the health care industry and state
health care programs;
(9) Consider the resources of the local health departments and
recommend ongoing relationships, as appropriate, between local
health departments, family resource networks, faith-based organizations, cooperative extension services, farm bureaus and
other health care providers;
(10) Encourage the development of incentives for participation
in employee wellness programs. Incentives may be based upon, but
should not be limited to, the employee's completion of health
questionnaires or participating in healthy lifestyles initiatives,
and may use experiences of successful initiatives that have
occurred in this state. The action plan should include among its
targets, state government employees in this incentive program;
(11) Build upon existing initiatives that focus on any of the
coalition's goals, soliciting input from these initiatives and
eliminating duplication of efforts;
(12) Report its progress to the Legislative Oversight
Commission on Health and Human Resource Accountability.

§5-1E-4. Partnership to encourage healthy lifestyles by children
and families.

(a) The West Virginia Healthy Lifestyles program will develop
a statewide voluntary private sector partnership program to work
with businesses throughout the State that encourage and promote
healthy lifestyles among their employees and communities.
(b) Beginning the first day of July, two thousand five, those
businesses voluntarily choosing to participate in the Health
Lifestyles program shall submit their own detailed programs to the
Office of Healthy Lifestyles for review. The programs should be
creative and unique, highlighting the efforts of the business to
promote health lifestyles to West Virginians through sensible diet and physical fitness.
(c) The West Virginia Healthy Lifestyles program will develop
a recognition program for private sector enterprises that develop
or advance programs that address the problems affecting overweight
and obese individuals and that promote a healthy lifestyle.
(d) Any business program promoting health lifestyles that is
recognized by the Office of Healthy Lifestyles will be issued a
universally recognized logo, suitable for public display by the
business.
(e) Marketing of programs recognized by the Office of Healthy
Lifestyles shall take place through all state agencies, provided
that the West Virginia Public Employees Insurance Agency, the
Bureau for Medical Services and the West Virginia Workers'
Compensation Commission shall aggressively market this program to
their members for the purposes of health promotion among their
members.
(f) The Office of Healthy Lifestyles shall market recognized
programs to other businesses, as models, to help create additional
programs promoting healthy lifestyles.
(e) The Office of Health Lifestyles shall report to the
Legislative Oversight Commission on Health and Human Resources
Accountability (1) the number of participants, (2) the impact on
businesses as established by a survey of participating businesses
and (3) the results of consumer satisfaction surveys all designed
by the Office of Healthy Lifestyles.§5-1E-5. Creation of a Healthy Lifestyles Fund.
There is hereby created in the State Treasury a separate
special revenue account, which shall be an interest bearing
account, to be known as the "Healthy Lifestyles Fund." The special
revenue account shall consist of all appropriations made by the
Legislature, income from the investment of moneys held in the
special revenue account and all other sums available for deposit to
the special revenue account from any source, public or private. No
expenditures for purposes of this section are authorized from
collections except in accordance with the provisions of article
three, chapter twelve of this code and upon fulfillment of the
provisions set forth in article two, chapter eleven-b of this code.
Any balance remaining in the special revenue account at the end of
any state fiscal year does not revert to the general revenue fund
but remains in the special revenue account and shall be used solely
in a manner consistent with this article. No expenses incurred
under this section shall be a charge against the general funds of
the state.

CHAPTER 18. EDUCATION.

ARTICLE 2. STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION.

§18-2-6a. Sale of healthy beverages and soft drinks in schools.(a) In order to generate funding for necessary programs and
supplies, county boards may permit the sale of healthy beverages
and soft drinks in county high schools except during breakfast and
lunch periods as follows:(1) During a school day, soft drinks may not be sold in areas accessible to students in an elementary school through vending
machines on the premises, in school stores or in school canteens or
through fund raisers by students, teachers, groups or by any other
means. In middle school or junior high school, only healthy
beverages may be sold in vending machines on the premises, in
school canteens or through fundraisers by students, teachers,
groups or by any other means. Nothing in this section shall be
construed to prohibit or limit sale or distribution of any food or
beverage item through fund-raising activities of students, teachers
or educational groups when the items are intended for sale off the
school grounds.(2) Those high schools which permit the sale of soft drinks
through vending machines must also offer for sale fifty percent
healthy beverages.(3) The sale of suchhealthy beverages and soft drinks shall
be in compliance with the rules of the National School Lunch
Program and the School Breakfast Program of the State Board and the
Nutrition Service of the United States Department of Agriculture,
which became effective on the seventeenth day of June, one thousand
nine hundred eighty-five. Provided, That, if under such rules,the
sale of soft drinks shall become prohibited, such rules shall not
prohibit the sale of soft drinks in highschools in the state of
West Virginia. Seventy-five percent of the profits from the sale
of healthy beverages and soft drinks shall be allocated by a
majority vote of the faculty senate of each school and twenty-five
percent of the profits from the sale of healthy beverages and soft drinks shall be allocated to the purchase of necessary supplies by
the principal of the school.(b) For the purposes of this section:
(1) "School day" means the period of time between the arrival
of the first student at the school building and the end of the last
instructional period; and
(2) "Healthy beverage" means water, one hundred percent fruit
and vegetable juice and low-fat milk.

(a) The Legislature hereby finds that obesity is a problem of
epidemic proportions in this state. There is increasing evidence
that all segments of the population, beginning with children, are
becoming more sedentary, more overweight, and more likely to
develop health risks and diseases including Type II Diabetes, high
blood cholesterol and high blood pressure. The Legislature further
finds that the promotion of physical activity during the school day
for school children is a crucial step in combating this growing
epidemic and in changing the attitudes and behavior of the
residents of this state toward health promoting physical activity.
(b) As a result of these findings, the State Department of
Education shall establish the requirement that each child enrolled
in the public schools of this state actively participates in
physical education classes during the school year to the level of
their abilities as follows:
(1) Kindergarten to and including grade five. -- Not less than thirty minutes of physical education, including physical exercise
and age appropriate physical activities, for not less than three
days a week.
(2) Grade six to and including grade eight. -- Not less than
one full period of physical education, including physical exercise
and age appropriate physical activities, each school day of one
semester of the school year.
(3) Grade nine to and including grade twelve. -- Not less than
one full course credit of physical education, including physical
exercise and age appropriate physical activities which shall be
required for graduation and the opportunity to enroll in an
elective lifetime physical education course.
(c) Enrollment in physical education classes and activities
required by the provisions of this section shall not exceed, and
shall be consistent with, state guidelines for enrollment in all
other subjects and classes: Provided, That schools which do not
currently have the number of certified physical education teachers
or required physical setting may develop alternate programs that
will enable current staff and physical settings to be used to meet
the physical education requirements established herein.(d) The State Board of Education shall prescribe a program
within the existing health and physical education program which
incorporates thefitness testing, awardsreporting, recognition,
fitness events and incentive programs designed under the auspices
of the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports and which
requires the participation through gradein grades four througheight and the required high school coursenine of each student and
of each school in the state in both the challenge program and the
state champion program of the council. The program shall be
selected from nationally accepted fitness testing programs designed
for school-aged children that test school-aged children that test
cardiovascular fitness, muscular strength and endurance,
flexibility and body composition. The program shall include the
modified test for exceptional students. Each school in the state
shall participate in National Physical Fitness and Sports Month in
May of each year and shall make every effort to involve the
community it serves in the related events. (e) All students shall have their body mass index using height
and weight as the basis of measurement and reported to the State
Board of Education after training. All data shall be reported each
year using student identifiers to ensure student confidentiality.
The Department of Education shall prepare a yearly analysis of the
data to establish trends to be reported to the Governor, the
Healthy Lifestyles Coalition and the Legislative Committee on
Health and Human Resource Accountability.